


Heart Warming Childhood Tales

by purplekitte



Category: Sailor Moon - All Media Types
Genre: Childhood Sweethearts, Drama, Romance, Turtles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-18
Updated: 2008-01-17
Packaged: 2017-10-19 08:51:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/199070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplekitte/pseuds/purplekitte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heart-warming childhood stories of Motoki and Mamoru.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

Two boys reached for the blue crayon at the exact same time.

"I need it. I'm drawing a comet."

"Well I'm drawing a pony."

"Then what do you need the blue for?"

"It's a blue pony, like Daddy said he'd get me."

"Dummy, there's no such thing as a blue pony."

"Is to!"

"Quiet down, boys," the teacher called from the other side of the room, busy with two girls already squabbling over a doll on the first day of kindergarten.

Motoki dragged at the crayon, which broke with a little snap. His eyes went big and watered up and he started to sob.

Mamoru reached down the pluck out the shards of the crayon. He put half in Motoki's little hand. "Now we both have one."


	2. Chapter 2

"Hi, I'm Kusaka Hina. My father just adopted Mamoru-kun."

"I'm Furuhata Motoki, his best friend. So, you're his new sister?" It didn't seem fair, having to loose his parents to get a new sister. He'd gotten Unazuki for free and he still wasn't sure he wanted her.

"No! I'm his bet-beth-betro… I'm going to be Mamoru-kun's bride someday."

"Eww! You're a girl."

"Who did you think he was going to marry?" the little girl humphed. "Just look at me in the mirror. I'm pretty and smart and rich." She puffed herself up with all the arrogance the small child could manage.

"You have cooties. I'd better get a cootie shot before I catch them. I'm never getting married."

"Mamoru's going to marry me because he's mature. Unlike you." She tapped him nowhere near hard enough to be called a push, crying "Tag, you're it", before running off.


	3. Chapter 3

"Yamada."

"Chiba."

"Oh man. Uhh… Kimura."

"Muha," said the other boy smugly.

The players waiting to be chosen by a team slowly dwindled down to that annoying nerd and that girl who was really tough and could beat all of them up but was a girl.

"We'll take Inoue."

"Ah man, that means we're stuck with Furuhata."

"Do we have to?"

"We had him last time, that's why we got to pick first."

"Shut up about Motoki; he's starting to cry."

"Defending the crybaby, Chiba? Crybaby and crybaby's friend! Even the girl's a better boy than you."

Mamoru punched him in the face and Inoue kicked him in the shin and while everyone was distracted by the little boys crying and the teacher running over, Motoki stole the ball.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Chiba, I bet I can throw this further than you."

"You're a girl; you can't throw."

Unexpectedly, Inoue didn't punch him. "I can throw further than your friend there."

"Don't mess with Motoki."

"At least you stand up for him cuz he doesn't for himself."

"Motoki, stand up for yourself."

"Yes Mamoru."

Inoue Kanako smirked at him.

"Maybe you have a point."

"Now see if you can out-throw me."

"What will you do if I do?"

"I'll do pushups until I do. I'm going to be a baseball star someday."

"Well I'm going to be a doctor. Motoki, what are you going to be?"

"Eh… I… don't really know…"

"Shape up," both his friends snapped at him.


	5. Chapter 5

"Damn it, Motoki's late." Kanako kicked a wall.

Not to be outdone by her unladylike speech, Mamoru said, "Shit, it's still early."

"Maybe he went without us already."

"No way." To combat her impatience he added, "Maybe his Mom knows if he'd sick or something."

"Okay."

They found a police car in front of the house and Motoki's tear-stain-faced mother's expression fell as she opened the door.

"Motoki… never… came home… last night," she told them between sobs.

Mamoru and Kanako looked at each other. Yeah, maybe the phone had wrung last night and their parents had said "No, he's not here."

"So where could he be?"

"Maybe he was kidnapped."

"Abducted, more like. By aliens."

"Maybe he was out by the turtle pond and got lost," Mamoru suggested. They were behind the school and would still be early if they went in now, but he had no intention of doing anything but skipping until Motoki was found.

She snorted at the idea anyone could get lost in the scant bit of wilderness of the park behind the school, but followed him down the little creek.

"Did you hear that?"

"What?"

"There it is again."

There it was again as they stood perfectly still listening. A dull, blunt crash quieter than the crunch of leaves under their feet and only slightly louder than their breathing.

"Maybe it's an animal," but they crept toward it all the same. The faint sound was coming from the sports shed that no one was sure if it belonged to the school of the park. It was packed tight with equipment and famous for setting off avalanches if we tried to get a ball from the wrong place.

"It's never been locked." The dull, rusty padlock that had always been on the ground nearby was now bolted on the door.

"I don't know who has the key."

"Leave it to me." Kanako set her jaw and kicked till the whole building leaned and the wood around the lock splintered. Property damage was not that difficult when you purposefully set out to do it.

In a tiny space, barely large enough for his curled-up form, was Motoki. "Ma… moru. Kanako," he said hoarsely. "I thought I heard you, but I thought I dreamt it."

Mamoru's eyes said they'd find out who did this and hurt them, as he helped his friend crawl out. Kanako's eyes were wistful rather than violent for once and said, _He's going to be claustrophobia forever, isn't he?_


	6. Chapter 6

When Motoki met Reika he spent a long time waiting for the other shoe to fall. Pretty, smart girls were not nice to him unless they were involved in the lead up of some huge prank at his expense. Mamoru always told him not to be so gullible and he was not going to give his friend more reason to roll his eyes and sigh.

A girl might sit by him once by accident, but not again unless there was another shoe.

The first time had been an accident, the second a whim. What Motoki didn't know was that then Unazuki had called her out, Hina had done a background check on her, and Kanako had threatened to beat her up, intimidating any flighty silliness out of her.

The third time Reika had sat down next to him, it had been serious.


	7. Chapter 7

"My father told me he'd announce the dress code for the party later today," Hina told them.

Reika giggled. Kanako and Unazuki smirked.

"Mamoru will look so cute in a dress."

"I can't wait to see him squirm," Kanako purred.

"You are such a lesbian."

"Stop stereotyping. Though, yes."

"Should we get him in a corset?" Unazuki suggested.

Reika and Hina giggled. Motoki ran over with an ungraceful gait from his long adolescent limbs. "Hey, what are you talking about?"

"Girl stuff. Go away."

"Okay."

"Wait, come back."

"What?"

"Mamoru is going to the party tomorrow."

"His father is organizing it. I don't think he has much for a—"

"Unazuki will help you get ready."

"Hey, that means I won't be able to help with Ma—"

"Okay… By the way, do you know what the theme is going to be? Why are you all laughing?"


	8. Chapter 8

"I know you are somehow to blame and I will kill you for it."

Kanako smiled fakely in the light of Mamoru's glare and adjusted a white glove under layers of lace.

"May I say you look lovely, madam."

"I will kill you and when some day they find the body they will say 'she deserved it' because no one will have forgotten this."

"At least you can breathe in your corset. I can't, with my chest being wrapped."

"You should have thought of that before you all put together a cross-dressing ball."

"At least dark blue is tasteful on you. Look there's Motoki over there, wearing a pink hoop-poodle."

"I'd look again, if my eyes had stopped bleeding from last time.

"Kanako?"

"Hm?"

"Get Reika to get him out of here. Unlike me, they can escape and he doesn't need more humiliation."

"Okay."

"Also, all the blood when I kill you might disturb his delicate disposition."


	9. Chapter 9

"Aah, stop kissing my sister!"

Kanako glared. "She kissed me first."

"That's not the point!"

"Why are you so upset, O-nii-chaaan?" Unazuki sing-songed. "I saw you kissing Mamoru-niisan behind the gym."

Both boys went red. "That was just one time," Motoki spluttered. "And we were twelve. And we were just trying out kissing so we'd be good at it if we ever tried it on a girl."

"I'll tell all the girls at school that you're _gaaay_ ," Unazuki threatened.

Kanako thought instantly that that wasn't a very effective threat. "I'll tell Hina."

"You wouldn't!"

"I would. Now, where were we?" she asked as she grabbed Unazuki's face again.


	10. Chapter 10

"What was that? Was it a shark? It was a shark, wasn't it?"

"Motoki, there aren't sharks here. The last shark attack on the whole island was in 1920. I come here every year and I would know and I've never even seen a shark."

"What was that?" he pointed to an odd shape in a wave.

"That's a jellyfish."

"Sharks eat jellyfish, right? They'll come here, following their prey."

"Sharks don't eat jellyfish; turtles eat jellyfish."

"Turtles?"

"Yes, turtles," Hina said soothingly. "Big snapping turtles, that wouldn't be around if there were sharks biting at their flippers."

"Turtles…?"

"Get in the goddamn water." Mamoru pushed his bright-orange-floaty-attired friend into the breakers.


	11. Chapter 11

"So, you got bored of swimming?"

"Yes," Motoki said fiercely, unable to see her grin. "Are you rappelling?"

"No. Rappelling involves cables. I'm rock-climbing."

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

Kanako would have shrugged if she could have. "I might break a few bones if I fell from this high. I saw a cave further up and I want to look at it."

"A cave?"

"Yes, a cave. A tiny, narrow space with a low ceiling and mysterious drips of water and the nesting places of small animals and haunts and ghosts." Unbeknownst to him, she smiled wider.

"I'm going to go find Reika," he called as he scampered off.


	12. Chapter 12

The wind shifted slightly, that Hina first noticed because she was an old hand in these parts. The surf was a bit rough because of a hurricane further up the coast, but there was no rip tide. The sun was being cut off by rather angry-looking dark clouds, though.

"Mamoru! Hina!" Motoki cried, running down the trail. "The… the…" he panted. "We're under storm alert. The hurricane's changed course and swung towards us on a deep-sea current!"

It started to rain, a cold torrential downpour that was only a smidgen of what was to come.

"What do you mean right at us?"

"The weather channel said it would pass 'fifty miles east of north'. What's a mile?"

"I don't think we could, or absolutely need to, evacuate the island at this point, but let's get inside."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "So, Reika, we're going to be stuck in, all night, and I do believe we'll be alone." Holding her hand, Motoki ran a thumb down her knuckles.

"So, Reika, we're going to be stuck in, all night, and I do believe we'll be alone." Holding her hand, Motoki ran a thumb down her knuckles.

"Why, Motoki, I do believe you're putting the moves on me."

"I believe I am." He wagged his eyebrows for a bit before learning over the tiny amount to kiss her.

Reika brought her other hand up the back of his neck and all but slid into his lap. The slight chill in the air only made her more aware of the warmth radiating off his skin.

"You're wearing too much."

"I think we can fix that."


	14. Chapter 14

"I'm not going to KO University," Kanako announced suddenly one day when she had Mamoru were hanging out in the break/locker room of Motoki's part-time job.

"Well you certainly didn't get into anyplace better," Mamoru quipped.

"Eh!" exclaimed Motoki. "You're going to go to a fifth-rate university and join a biker gang and hit on innocent, unsuspecting schoolgirls and take up teaching, aren't you?"

"Uh… nothing like that, actually. I'm going to America," she finally revealed. "To play minor league baseball, where I got offered a contract. Also, I'm impersonating a man and changing my name to Bobby Chou. I'm leaving next Tuesday; don't worry, I've got it all worked out. And see if I ever call you losers again."

"Biker gang."

"Biker gang."


	15. Chapter 15

"Motoki! Guess what? Guess what? I got accepted!"

Looking up from feeding Kamekichi, Motoki blinked at his girlfriend.

"At what?"

"I got accepted into the Peace Corp. I'm going to Africa!" She bubbled with excitement.

"Ah, you were applying for that."

"I didn't think I was all the qualified, really, but I got in and they got me a posting already."

"You've always wanted to do that, haven't you?"

"Yep, always."

Motoki smiled. That would be, what, three years? He forced himself to keep smiling.

"I'm glad you got in. That's great."

"I know. I'm just so happy," she beamed.


	16. Chapter 16

Five days.

"Got your passport?"

"Motoki, if I didn't have my passport already it would be a little too late now."

Four days.

 _She won't actually go. She won't._

"Are you done packing?"

"I haven't finished doing laundry yet."

Three days.

 _I hate her, I hate her, I hate her. Worst person in the world for leaving._

"Motoki?" Reika looked worriedly at him. "Are you alright?"

"It's just the traffic."

Two days.

 _If_ _you stay, I'll be the best boyfriend ever. I'll make sure you never regret staying._

"Kanpai."

"I'll miss you so much, Reika!"

"I'll miss you too, Unazuki."

"You'd better write," Hina threatened as Motoki stole the bottle of Champaign from Mamoru.

One day.

 _If only I had more time…_

"Come on. Let's go get tempura and ramen at the greasy all-night place down the corner."

"It's two a.m."

"Come on, you won't get it again for a year."

"Okay."

In the airport.

"Motoki, stop squeezing so hard. You're hurting my hand."

"Sorry."

"I guess I've been insensitive. Are you…?"

"I'll be okay."


	17. Chapter 17

"Ooh, ooh," Motoki squirmed in bed, moaning softly in his sleep. Mamoru rolled his eyes, blinking as they went too close to the bright center of the bulb of his desk lamp. _Perfectly natural, right?_

"Mmm, heh, like that."

Mamoru poured over his diagrams of veins and arteries. They were getting blurrier, an unsubtle hint that just maybe he should consider the unlikely event of getting some sleep tonight.

"Umm, Kamekichi…"

Mamoru threw his fifteen pounds of biology textbook at his roommate. It missed, but the resulting crash woke him up. "You know how I said college and your new turtle" freak "friends were a good influence?"

"Un?"

"I take it back."


	18. Chapter 18

Motoki can remember every detail of it perfectly. He was wearing a dark blue sweater, not scratchy, and preparing a cup of chamomile tea for himself and the room smelled of gardenias and there were accounting books open on the table, when the mail arrived.

Motoki had left the tea packet to soak (there had only been two others in the box; he'd put it on the shopping list) and put the pile of mail on top of the notebooks to go through.

Advertisement, bill, advertisement, letter…

The stamp had had a dorky cartoon of he continent of Africa with a mane and tail, he remembered that.

 _Dear Motoki,_ Reika's letter had read. _This may seem a bit sudden, but for the longest time I didn't want to tell you about this because I didn't think anything would come of it. You know we agreed years ago that we could see other people? Not that I don't still miss you and treasure the memories of your time together, but I'm getting married. He_

Motoki couldn't read past that for the longest time. His first thought wasn't one of betrayal or anger or even the wistful regret he would sometimes feel later, but the single thought, _Now I can propose to Makoto._


	19. Chapter 19

Hina had never expected to be at Mamoru's wedding, not as the bride, but as the sister.

Motoki, standing beside her, was weeping openly and probably would go through that entire box of tissues before the service was over. On her other side were four men with weird hair and hard eyes. They were all gazing intently at Mamoru, with the looks of people so completely taken in they would do anything for him. She had never seen them before, so for all she knew they were gangsters who had tried to mug him on the way to the wedding and he had brought along.

She herself had no idea how she felt. Vaguely happy for the girl, for Mamoru. Sad. Content. Jealous. Proud.

She wasn't the one up there in the gorgeous white wedding gown, but the one down here, getting Motoki's snot on her sleeve and maybe learning that she could learn to be happy as the sister of the groom.


	20. Chapter 20

"I'm going to hide behind those doors. Keep the reporters away and don't tell them where I am." Hina hitched up her skirts and ran before the reports rounded the corner.

"Hey," Motoki commanded, holding up his arms. He was an usher, after all, and the bride had given him an order. "You can't go past here."

"Is Kusaka-san in that room?"

"Is she excited about the wedding?"

"Is she already pregnant?"

"I'm not allowed to let you in here, even if she weren't—I mean, even if she were in here."

"She's in here!" called the reporters, like scouts of some hunting animals calling in the full pack after the actress. Or maybe zombies.

"Hey, hey," Motoki warned as they surged past him into the... empty, dead-end room.


End file.
